Let me take you with me on my morning errands. That brief sojourn out into the world was pretty much the centerpiece of my day anyway. The rest was the usual: working, watering, laundry, that kind of thing.

I called Mom at ten, just before I left the Fortress, to make sure she was home (and also to be sure I wouldn't be surprising her in her bathrobe). The excuse I gave her on the phone: I didn't get yesterday's paper and wanted to see if she'd saved it. Ulterior motive: I had a tape of Mumford, a movie I knew she wanted to see, since parts of it were filmed here in Sonoma County.

Mom's house is on my way to the bank, so I had an excuse to be in her area. I had no reason to stop there on company time, but I didn't stay long. The bank is located conveniently inside Safeway, which just happens to have a bakery, which just happens to feature fresh donuts every morning.

Whenever the mail brings a check that has to be deposited, the joy it brings me goes beyond the knowledge that I'll be able to keep paying the bills. It also means a trip to the bakery — er, bank.

The design of this mini-branch includes an awkward arrangement of the teller windows. Each one has a sign propped in front of it, at precisely the angle that prevents a customer standing in line from seeing whether there's an actual live teller available.

Usually this means creeping forward from the front of the line, looking for an idle teller. Today there was no line and no customer at any of the windows, so I assumed that at least one teller was available to record my deposit.

I don't like to buy just two donuts, because it looks as if that's the only reason I'm in the store. I'd prefer, of course, that grocery checkers think I eat nothing but celery sticks, but that can't be helped. A donut is hard to disguise as something nutritious.

Today I also bought a loaf of bread and the new fall preview issue of TV Guide. With dozens of movie channels available since I got the satellite dish, I'd assumed I wouldn't be watching much network TV this fall, but I like to read about the new shows.

That was probably a mistake, because after I got home I found the names of a few favorite actors who will appear in shows that I wouldn't otherwise consider watching:

• Casey Sander, in Tucker
• Bill Cobbs, in The Michael Richards Show
• Sara Gilbert, in Welcome to New York
• Mo Gaffney, in Normal, Ohio
• Adam Goldberg, in The Street
• Sabrina Lloyd, in Madigan Men
• Lynne Thigpen, in The District

That's not to mention the new shows starring Andre Braugher and Chris Isaak, plus Castaway on BBC America and Forensic Files on Court TV. I might have to get another VCR.

Where was I? After the bank I made my daily stop at the post office, then went on to Office Depot. The Boss has been complaining that he can't get the erasers he likes in Nevada, so I bought six dozen of the little suckers to ship off to him.

Could I resist going next door to Best Buy? I could not, even though I had no reason to be there. It's been a long time since I've given in to my CD addiction, but I was weak today. I picked up the new Fastball, because I love that retro stuff (and they're fun to sing along with), and the latest Jill Sobule, because she is the coolest. Both were on sale, so I actually saved money, don't you know.

Then I came home and did all that other stuff I mentioned, laundry and the like. Thank you for your attention.

My nearest neighboring structure is this vacant barn, also owned by my landlord.

Apparently they plan to keep it.